In the United States, nearly one in five women will have a mental health condition in the months before or after giving birth, according to the World Health Organization. Many of those women never get help.As part of Maternal Mental Health Month, WTAE is looking at new technology that’s helping with postpartum support.”There is an explosion of app-based technology that’s actually being introduced in this area,” said Dr. Priya Gopalan, chief of psychiatry for UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and psychiatrist at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital.More apps and virtual options are popping up, focusing on perinatal mental health.”It’s a really good way to connect people who oftentimes have struggles with childcare and transportation and that kind of thing,” Gopalan said. “There are researchers here at the University of Pittsburgh who are doing research specific to developing apps for perinatal mental health, which I think is extraordinary.”In addition to apps, UPMC just launched a fully virtual maternal wellness program.It’s free and open to anyone.”Anyone can log in and get education on everything from OP care and fourth trimester kind of things to lactation support to maternal wellness, which is really the core,” Gopalan said.Another new virtual resource is called Connect by Postpartum Support International. PSI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to perinatal mental health.Carrie Banks, peer support programs director at PSI, said, “The goal is to connect parents to our free support services quickly and easily so that they can find communities, they can find resources, find treatment options for themselves.”Banks said “app-based” help allows people to seek support privately, which makes a difference for some.”There’s so much stigma around mental health challenges in and around pregnancy and childbirth that really doesn’t need to be, because it’s something that happens to so many people,” Banks said. “We need to talk about it, we need to offer support and resources.”Another resource launching late this summer is a Food and Drug Administration-approved app called MamaLift Plus. It’s the first and only prescription app for women’s mental health.”Mama Lift is a self-guided self-management platform,” said Shailja Dixit, CEO and founder of Curio Digital Therapeutics. “At the base of this whole thing is a scientific concept of cognitive behavioral therapy. “So think about when a person is having in-person sessions with a therapist; they have been broken down into lessons that she can do on her own. So, in very simple words, it’s a therapist in a box which is driven by logic. And a woman can actually access that anytime, anywhere.”And, unique from many other apps, MamaLift Plus can only be used under the supervised care of a health care provider.Gopalan said, “It is a really exciting time to be in this field, because we can actually give people hope and give people options and allow them to see a future.”
In the United States, nearly one in five women will have a mental health condition in the months before or after giving birth, according to the World Health Organization. Many of those women never get help.
As part of Maternal Mental Health Month, WTAE is looking at new technology that’s helping with postpartum support.
“There is an explosion of app-based technology that’s actually being introduced in this area,” said Dr. Priya Gopalan, chief of psychiatry for UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and psychiatrist at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital.
More apps and virtual options are popping up, focusing on perinatal mental health.
“It’s a really good way to connect people who oftentimes have struggles with childcare and transportation and that kind of thing,” Gopalan said. “There are researchers here at the University of Pittsburgh who are doing research specific to developing apps for perinatal mental health, which I think is extraordinary.”
In addition to apps, UPMC just launched a fully virtual maternal wellness program.
It’s free and open to anyone.
“Anyone can log in and get education on everything from OP care and fourth trimester kind of things to lactation support to maternal wellness, which is really the core,” Gopalan said.
Another new virtual resource is called Connect by Postpartum Support International. PSI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to perinatal mental health.
Carrie Banks, peer support programs director at PSI, said, “The goal is to connect parents to our free support services quickly and easily so that they can find communities, they can find resources, find treatment options for themselves.”
Banks said “app-based” help allows people to seek support privately, which makes a difference for some.
“There’s so much stigma around mental health challenges in and around pregnancy and childbirth that really doesn’t need to be, because it’s something that happens to so many people,” Banks said. “We need to talk about it, we need to offer support and resources.”
Another resource launching late this summer is a Food and Drug Administration-approved app called MamaLift Plus. It’s the first and only prescription app for women’s mental health.
“Mama Lift is a self-guided self-management platform,” said Shailja Dixit, CEO and founder of Curio Digital Therapeutics. “At the base of this whole thing is a scientific concept of cognitive behavioral therapy.
“So think about when a person is having in-person sessions with a therapist; they have been broken down into lessons that she can do on her own. So, in very simple words, it’s a therapist in a box which is driven by logic. And a woman can actually access that anytime, anywhere.”
And, unique from many other apps, MamaLift Plus can only be used under the supervised care of a health care provider.
Gopalan said, “It is a really exciting time to be in this field, because we can actually give people hope and give people options and allow them to see a future.”
Source
#apps #women #tackle #postpartum #depression